Rioja Spain

Got to San Sebastian, Spain in time for the sunset. The water is filled with boats and the land was full of people waiting for the sun to set. Sunsets are always an event when there is an ocean. We met up with our friends from Bonaire ( Irene and Mark) to tour the Rioja wine country.

 

Tapas in northern Spain/Basque country are called Pinchos.  There are hundreds of little bars with people lined up four or five deep to get dinks and Pinchos.  They have a board with all their offerings and this particular bar had it in English. And, of course, they all offer Jamon (ham).

 

Next stop was Rioja wine country. This area has miles of vineyards and small villages.  Every village has a church and numerous bodegas.  Since there are 800 wine producers in the area, everywhere you go is wine tasting. We stayed Banos de Ebro in a village home with a beautiful patio overlooking the vineyards

One of the restaurants we went to had their waiting room in a cellar.  It was down about two levels and was a winding path with a fulling stocked bar.  When your table was ready they called and take you top side at a super nice (white table cloth) restaurant that served Basque food from the area.

The Spanish people are very nice but few speak English and we speak only vacation Spanish.   Irene speaks Spanish so it was helpful to have her language skills. Four days in this area is not enough.  It so beautiful and there is so much wine to drink!